Game Developers Face Backlash Over Troubling Stereotypes and Gender Violence in Match-3 Ads

Mobile game developers Microfun, Nanobit, and Magic Tavern have faced allegations of promoting toxic stereotypes and gender-based violence in a recent report concerning mobile game advertising.

In a Sky News report, Mission Makeover (Magic Tavern), Gossip Harbor (Microfun), and Hollywood Narrative (Nanobit) were highlighted for endorsing “extremely damaging” misogynistic themes to market their match-3 puzzle games in the UK.

The advertisement for Mission Makeover depicted a man pouring a girl’s deceased parent’s ashes over her head to coerce her into a salon makeover.

Gossip Harbor illustrates a man physically attacking his partner and daughter, prompting the pop-up choice “Leave or Endure,” while Hollywood Narrative shows a normally unattractive woman piercing a condom to lure a man into a relationship with her.

Utilizing data from Similarweb and AppMagic, Sky estimates that the three games collectively achieved 67.7 million downloads last year, generating a global revenue of $367 million through in-app purchases.

Sky reports that this is “just some of many examples Sky News has encountered of mobile game companies utilizing themes of domestic violence, aggression, and the degradation of women to secure downloads, while the games themselves – basic puzzle applications – bear little relevance to the narratives depicted in the advertisements.”

“It’s incredibly damaging if you are exposed to these images even on a subconscious level; when you’re downloading these games, you’re engaging with them actively,” stated Eliza Hatch, who leads Cheer Up Luv, an anti-public harassment initiative. “What does that promote?”

“[Our] intention is to provide entertainment in a safe and conscientious manner. In this instance, we clearly fell short, and we sincerely apologize for any discomfort that our advertisements may have inflicted,” Microfun expressed in a statement. “We have taken down the aforementioned ads.”